Can I Just Replace the Outdoor Unit on an Older Air Conditioning System to Save Money?

January 18, 2016
By
Canoga Park Heating & Air Conditioning

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Air conditioning systems are very expensive to replace, and it’s tempting to try to save
costs wherever possible. When one unit of your air conditioning system
fails, replacing one unit while keeping the older, still-functioning unit
sounds like a practical cost-saving measure. However, mismatched air conditioning
components can have a negative effect on the efficiency, reliability and
life-span of your system.

The indoor and outdoor units of a residential air conditioning system function
together despite the fact that they are split into two units. As a result,
the system suffers stress when the two units have dissimilar components
that were designed to work at different levels of efficiency.

You Can’t Teach Old Coils New Tricks

When mismatched air conditioning components are forced to work together,
it can put stress on the older unit and seriously compromise the function
of the new unit.

Newer condenser coils are more efficient, have a larger, grooved surface
area, and employ other enhanced features that improve their performance.
Older coils do not have these features, and are often incompatible with
new condenser coils.

New air conditioning units use thermal expansion valves with a hard shut-off
to control their use of refrigerant. However, older units were not designed
with a hard shut-off, and this feature can strain the components of older
compressors.

Various technological improvements allow new air conditioning units to
achieve much higher Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratios (SEER) than older
systems. When new units are paired with older units, the SEER of the overall
air conditioning system drops well below the potential SEER of the new unit.

Consequences for Your System

All of these mismatched components can have serious consequences for the
lifespan and efficiency of your air conditioning system. Manufacturer
tests have demonstrated that systems with mismatched components have less
cooling ability, lower operational efficiency and a tendency to break
down or fail altogether. These tests suggest that the odds of the compressor
in a mismatched system failing within the first year are as high as 45 percent.

The incompatibility of mismatched components means that replacing only
one unit of your air conditioning system is not the smart, cost-saving
move that it appears to be. This moves comes with a variety of hidden
costs, from the higher cost of running an inefficient system to the cost
of replacing system components when they breakdown from undue stress.
Although you will spend more money upfront to replace both air conditioning
units, this option is actually more likely to save you money and headaches
in the future.

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